Shimonoseki Manjuso

The view of Kanmon bridge from this location is fantastic. Service was satisfactory too, and the price was very competitive.

Really good prices, including specials on what was the best massage therapy I’ve ever had. The bath house, hotel, and restaurant were all great, and the service was excellent.

I only went in for a bath, but the view from it was fantastic.

The room and onsen views were fabulous, and the room was extremely spacious. That’s rare for hotels in Japan, where some rooms make me feel almost claustrophobic, half joking. The front desk staff spoke acceptable English, which impressed me given that this hotel isn’t in a big city or part of a brand-name chain. I had a Japanese-style room and didn’t realize it had only a toilet and washbasin, without a proper bathroom. After checking in I looked at the booking page, and it did say something like “western style room with a bathroom” versus “japanese traditional style room.” It was a bit hard to infer from that that the Japanese-style room had no bathroom, since it wasn’t stated the way it was for the Western-style room. Still, the onsen and public bath were well maintained and easy to reach. I checked in on an ordinary weekday in April. From what I saw around the restaurant, it was just me, a Chinese tourist family, and Japanese older guests. I’m guessing this is a regular spot for them. The hotel went completely quiet after 7-8pm, which was a new experience. Maybe that’s why I could use the public bath and onsen almost alone late at night. That was amazing. The food was a real letdown. For a hotel that seems to aim for a semi-luxury feel, rather than being a simple small business hotel, the meals were mediocre and uninteresting. I’ve had much better breakfasts at far cheaper business hotels. There was also a confusing mix-up at dinner. A staff member asked whether I wanted a drink. I thought drinks cost extra on top of the meal I’d paid for, so I said no because I hadn’t brought cash or a card to pay. She told me drinks were included, so I said I hadn’t realized because the menu listed prices, and I took a few drinks with dinner. At checkout, I was asked to pay for them. I still don’t understand why that misunderstanding happened.